Painkillers may also mend a broken heart

Women who took ibuprofen that they felt less distress during an uncomfortable experienceLAUREN HURLEY/PA

Painkillers can dull emotions as well as physical pain, researchers have found.

Common over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen and paracetamol may influence how people process their feelings, according to a review of studies by the University of California, Santa Barbara.

According to the scientists, women who had taken a dose of ibuprofen said that they felt less emotional distress during an uncomfortable experience, such as being excluded from a game, compared with after taking a placebo.

Men showed the opposite pattern, with heightened emotions in the group that took the painkillers.

The medicines also seemed to affect people’s ability to empathise, with those who had taken paracetamol less distressed while reading about a person experiencing physical or emotional pain. The researchers said that while the…

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